Republican Senators Denounce 'False Hope' of Pa. Legislative Election Reversal

Two Lancaster County Republican senators said Dec. 4 that a campaign from fellow GOP colleagues to change the state’s electors in support of the president gives “false hope” that the Legislature can overturn the results.

State Sens. Ryan Aument and Scott Martin said a constitutional provision dating back more than 80 years demands that the state awards its electors to the certified winner of the popular vote. Gov. Tom Wolf confirmed on Nov. 24 that former Vice President Joe Biden etched out a narrow 81,000-vote victory over Donald Trump.

“To be clear, Republicans cannot only advocate for the rule of law when it is to our political advantage to do so,” the senators wrote in an editorial for Lancaster Online. “Our fidelity to the Constitution and adherence to the laws of this commonwealth prohibit us from pursuing the course being proposed to assign a new slate of electors contrary to the certified winner of the statewide popular vote.”

Legislators would have to approve a bill that would give it the power to choose electors in defiance of the popular vote – a long shot given that the governor would veto any such effort. Even if such an effort was successful, it could only apply to future elections.

“In this tenuous moment, it is absolutely critical that our elected officials lead with integrity,” the senators said. “The people of Pennsylvania want and deserve results, and our Constitution eloquently lays out a process by which we attain those results. However, we refuse to partake in a campaign that gives false hope to those who believe the election results can be overturned by the Legislature.”

The editorial comes after Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, proposed a resolution in conjunction with House Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, that demands Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar withdraw the certified results while legislators investigate claims of fraud and mismanagement.

“Pennsylvanians want transparency and accountability with our electoral process – it is the hallmark of our American system to ensure that we the people select our government leaders, including the President of the United States,” Mastriano said. “As state legislators, we take our responsibility to guard and guarantee our constituents’ right to free and fair elections. I fought to defend this right for three decades … nothing is more sacred in our democracy.”

Mastriano made similar comments during his opening remarks during the Senate Majority Policy Committee’s hearing with Rudy Giuliani over claims of widespread voter fraud in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Most of the president’s legal challenges alleging the same have been dismissed for lack of evidence.

Aument and Martin say they share in the frustrations of the constituents concerned about the way the Nov. 3 election unfolded, but argued that the U.S. Supreme Court – not a “partisan policy committee" – is the place to seek justice for abuses of the election code.

“However, the recent effort to claim the Legislature could, through the passage of a simple majority resolution, declare this presidential election in dispute and assign a new slate of electors contrary to the winner of the popular vote in Pennsylvania is simply false,” the senators concluded.

Wolf said Friday that legislators should also abandon calls for a special session to address election integrity. As it stands, the General Assembly won’t begin its 2021-22 legislative session until first week of January.

“Let me be clear – there is absolutely no reason to call a special session,” he tweeted. “President Trump’s own attorney general [Bill Barr] said there was no widespread fraud. We had a free and fair election and now it’s time to move on.”